Last
month, 5 athletes, including the head coach of our kid’s competition team, traveled to Sao Paulo to compete in IBJJF Brazilian Nationals. It was a major accomplishment for the project and the students who were able to fundraise enough money to pay for the registration for the tournament and transportation to get from Rio to Sao Paulo.
They were joined by 13 athletes from Cantagalo Jiu Jitsu,
another social project located in the same neighborhood.
“I want to congratulate all of you, who once again showed
the strength of our project in a very historic tournament here in Rio, which is
the State. The work continues with great difficulty, always with great love and
dedication for the children, who are the future of the Our country. Record
those faces that are going to be shining in the Jiu-jitsu of the world in the
future. Until next time ... Once again you have left me with a lot of pride."
~Douglas Rufino
view from Terere's house in the Cantagalo Favela
I could easily spout cliché statements about the
importance of jiu-jitsu based social projects and social initiatives in the
lives of “marginalized youth” but frankly it's unnecessary. Most of our
support, if not all, come from private donations from the jiu-jitsu community
and ANYONE that has survived more than a couple of classes in a gi, whether
they’re lawyer, doctor, or they make a living parking cars and selling dime
bags, can attest to just how much jiu-jitsu has changed their lives.
Whether you’re a middle aged white belt making your Naga
debut with no one but your two young sons and wife screaming at the sidelines
or a World Champion black belt who inspires 1,000 of young kids, jiu-jitsu
manages to infiltrate its way into our hearts and change our lives.
The Struggle is Real, But So is the Dream
Projects like Terere Kids Project and Cantagalo Jiu Jitsu
have paved the way for a lot of communities to lead better lives. Sports have
afforded many kids the opportunity to train and travel not just outside of
their communities, but outside of the country as well.
Kids that never left the block, now dream about traveling to
California or Portugal to compete in the biggest competitions. Kids that
couldn’t tell you the capital of Argentina or how many continents there are,
now dream about getting their black belts, being leaders in the community, and
traveling the world to teach classes in Abu Dhabi.
Born and Raised in the Cantagalo Favela
Jonata Gomes now travels the world training and
competing for Checkmat.
It has been a struggle. It's anything but easy and most
definitely not financially gratifying, but over the years more and more
projects have spread from Rio’s favelas to gym rooms in New York high school,
to libraries in San Francisco where kids learn chess strategies and back takes
to the beat of Wu-Tang (you know that good music that was around before all the
trap).
Terere's protegee Jhonathan Marques aka Moicano
is currently spending 6 months with the Mendes brothers
as part of their Art of Jiu Jitsu program.
It hasn't been easy, but jiu-jitsu teaches us to face challenges head on. So, after three years of making it work through
Paypal, Facebook, and the Western Union, we are happy to announce that Terere
Kids Project has been officially incorporated as a 501(c) in the United States.
Which means?
It means that we’re legit, with all the financial and legal
benefits of operation as a business.
It means that we’re here to stay.
Over the three years that I have been working with the
project, I’ve seen an amazing amount of growth and development, not just in the
students and kids from the community. But in the teachers and members of the
community that have rallied around the cause and made it their personal
responsibility to make sure that the kids get snacks, or that new gis get
bought, and fans get fixed (well now we have air conditioning that’s to Toro
BJJ).
New Projects
With Brazilian Nationals out of the way and our new status
as an official business, it’s time to move on to the next challenge.
Although we are a business, we still have to file for tax
exemption which is a costly process.
U.S. 600
Although Brazilian nationals went well, we still have to
support our little ones who will be competing in an upcoming local competition.
U.S. 200
So if you want to show some love and lend a hand you can
help out in 1 of 3 ways.
1. Buy a Favela Jiu
Jitsu T-shirt or Hoodie @ www.favelajiujitsu.org
All proceeds from sales on go directly to funding these two
projects.
2. Send a donation
via PayPal
Donations sent to the project go to funding these two
initiatives and subsidizing the kid’s snack program.
3. Pay it forward
No money? No problem. You can support the project by sharing our story on social media, following our pages on Instagram and Facebook, or just
contributing to your own local BJJ community because where ever there is jiu
jitsu, there is a broke jiu jitiero that should be working but is training
instead.
